The SPLM/A-Juba faction headed by Salva Kiir has purchased thousands more assault rifles, grenade launchers, machine guns, missiles, and pistols from Chinese manufacturers.

Documents obtained by Bloomberg news outlet confirm that a huge shipment of weapons was shipped from a Chinese port last month en route to the Kenyan port of Mombasa. The delivery date for the weapons was not reported.

According to a western diplomat in Juba, South Sudan has spent at least $1 billion on weapons and delivery systems since the start of the civil war in December 2013.

The particular shipment documented by Bloomberg includes 9,574 automatic rifles, 2,394 grenade launchers, 4 million bullets for automatic rifles, 2 million rounds of pistol ammunition, 319 machine guns, 660 pistols, 20,000 rounds of 40-millimeter anti-personnel grenades and 4,000 rounds of 40-millimeter “heat rockets.”

Bloomberg obtained this information from marine-insurance documents sent to the news outlet by an industry representative.

The manufacturer of the weapons is China North Industries Group Corp., known as Norinco. The value of the shipment is approximately $38 million.

Defense Minister Kuol Manyang Juuk confirmed the purchase.

File photo: SPLM/A-Juba faction leader Salva Kiir Mayardit